Administration Plan of Action and Priority List
This paper is presented to constituents as a general outline of the next year’s activity for the Administration. It is neither exhaustive nor meant to limit the initiatives and issues we will face as a community. However, it is important to set out a plan of action, and, we think, equally important to give detail sufficient enough to elicit additional input from the community.
The Hodges Stockyard Commercial Redevelopment RFP was released on April 13, 2010, and questions regarding the RFP were due to the City of Alexandria Mayor’s Office of Economic Development by April 30. The questions received, with corresponding answers from the City, are as follows:
Q: Will I be paying for streets, drainage, walking parks, lights, etc.? Will my utilities be brought to ground level and “stubbed” off?
A: The value and the level of SPARC infrastructure incentives are directly related to the value and the economic impact of the private development. The more private dollars invested, the more SPARC can contribute.
As the private developer, you should quantify and qualify your expected total investment and provide these estimates to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, preferably in your response to the Request for Qualifications.
Notably, the infrastructure incentives the City would be willing to contribute toward a major grocery store and lifestyle center are likely far greater than the incentives the City could provide for a small, stand-alone retail store.
The purpose of this RFP is to attract major, catalytic commercial development in an area that is currently significantly under-served. Incentives are also tied to the business type and meeting public, quality of life needs and demands. Some uses, such as pawn shops, liquor stores, and savings retail outlets, do not qualify for any incentives because similar businesses already exist within the service area, and these businesses do not meet quality of life demands.
For the right project, the City would be willing to provide for the construction and development of infrastructure, including streets, drainage, sidewalks, lights, and utility connections that would otherwise be paid for by a private developer and subsequently donated to the City for up-keep and maintenance. In order to determine if your project qualifies, the City would first need to know the value and the scale of the proposal. No project can ever exceed a public contribution for project-specific public infrastructure outside of a 4.5:1 ratio of private to public dollars. The greater the private contribution, the greater the potential public scale. This will be further negotiated with winning teams, who are responsible for minimizing public contribution, not maximizing it.
The City will not provide a standard infrastructure build out because this would chill competition and the diversity of project ideas.
Q: Concerning the joint public safety complex, is there a written agreement between the COA and the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office?
A: The City has an ongoing Intergovernmental Agreement with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Department, and both agencies share resources frequently. With respect to a “written agreement” concerning the substation, both the Sheriff and the Mayor have publicly and repeatedly endorsed and supported this project. The City and the RPSO will coordinate with the private developer(s) to ensure the size and the location of the substation best complements and serves the project.
Q: Who will the construction contract be awarded to, the developer or by public bid letting?
A: Both Louisiana State law and the Alexandria City Charter require the construction of public infrastructure conform to public bid law. Purely private construction would not require public bidding; however, the City encourages the solicitation of competitive pricing quotes for private construction.
Q: Section 2.4 references “the proposed public safety/community policing initiative.” We believe this to be the anchor for any businesses to locate at this site. Please give a detailed description of the planned course of action for this facility.
A: Once the City successfully locates a private-sector developer(s), it will work directly with the developer(s) to create a site plan. This site plan will inform the City and the RPSO on the most appropriate location for the substation. Once the private-sector developer(s) secures financing, the City and the RPSO will immediately proceed with design; construction of this facility is expected to be concomitant with private-sector development.
Q: Please give examples of the kind of studies the COA can provide.
A: Market studies, feasibility studies, master site planning, public input reports, and appraisals.
Q: What consists of marketing?
A: The City is prohibited from marketing a private-sector business. However, the City can, and indeed already has, raise the public’s awareness of this particular project.
Other resources related to the project were requested. Please note that the site plans for the commercial section of the development are conceptual and preliminary, and do not represent a commitment or requirement of the City of Alexandria (click on the following images to download .pdf files).
Commercial Site Plan A
Commercial Site Plan B
Commercial Site Plan C
Overall Site Plat
The 8.071 acre parcel, less the area encompassing the oak trees, is reserved for commercial development. The 5.852 acre parcel will be a residential development. Site plans related to the residential development are available upon request.
Request for Proposals
Hodges Stock Barn Commercial Development
The City of Alexandria (COA) is issuing a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of approximately six (6) acres of the Hodges Stockbarn site at 3500 Third Street into a commercial development that includes grocery, pharmacy, and neighborhood business uses.
A proposal package may be acquired on the second floor of City Hall, 915 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301. To request a proposal package, please contact:
Mayor’s Office of Economic Development
(318) 449-5009
daniel.smith@cityofalex.com
Letters of Intent and questions are due by April 30, 2010. Full proposals are due at 4:00 p.m., May 28, 2010 at the above address.
Please click here to download the full RFP.
The City of Alexandria released a Request for Proposals for Commercial Redevelopment at the Hodgest Stockbarn site.
Questions were invited to be submitted by October 23, 2009. No questions were received by the City.
Please click here to download the full RFP.
Bolton Avenue / North MacArthur Drive Corridor Enhancement, Design, Planning, and Life-Cycle Sustainability
The City of Alexandria hereby issues a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from qualified and experienced planning, architectural, and/or design firms for the creation of actionable plans to improve two important economic corridors in SPARC-CRA-2. Firms should demonstrate their understanding of smart growth principles and the fundamentals of the S.P.A.R.C. program. Tasks include analyzing existing conditions, soliciting public input, and developing Corridor Enhancement and Improvement Plans.
A proposal package may be acquired from the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development on the second floor of City Hall, 915 Third Street, Alexandria, LA 71301. To request a proposal package, please contact:
Daniel T. Smith
(318) 449-5009
daniel.smith@cityofalex.com
Electronic versions of the proposal package are also available for download here (.pdf).
For more information, please see the entire document:
The City Administration has recommended awarding investment packages totaling $17M over five to ten years in incentives and hard infrastructure costs as well as another $10M-$20M in R.I.V.E.R. Project activities. This means the public would own significant properties and have a significant investment in the area—investment that would be used and enjoyed by citizens on a daily basis.
An initial assessment and COAN applying to the SPARC designated CRA-1 indicate benefits following general funding limits: $667,000 in CRA funds; at least one new fire station; $17M+ in hard infrastructure improvements, $1M in housing infrastructure for designated development proposals, and $1M+ in recreation infrastructure; and, potentially, up to $10M in designated funds to receive matching for riverfront development activity (to be allocated by the Commission or Management Teams to a mega-project or projects).
Already, the City has applied for and received $3.9M in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds for matching with the SPARC-CRA-1 Housing Initiative.
In addition, as much as $1M is federally earmarked for R.I.V.E.R. activity and almost $3M for recreation under the City’s FastTrack or general municipal capital outlay programs.
Finally, as much as $10M may be available through state capital outlay for Sugarhouse Road.
This is a working document, not meant to be a final assessment or “Findings of Necessity.” Partial recommended awards, however, have been determined as follows:
Riverfront Activities (R.I.V.E.R.)
- Design, planning, and construction of improvements and enhancements to the Alexandria Riverfront Amphitheater (which might be renamed after an important local figure, or, alternatively, the subject of naming rights from a private-sector company in exchange for an investment of at least $500K), including but not limited to changes in accessibility, the installation of stadium seating, the improvement of staging and acoustics, and the construction of restroom facilities. Attention should also be given to the improvement and augmentation of aesthetics and design of the facility. (Seeking $1M in federally-approved monies and $120K+/- in design, planning from S.PA.R.C.)
- Design, planning, and construction of improvements and enhancements to the Alexandria Riverfront Center, particularly along the riverfront. (Seeking $2M- $2.5M, including $380K- $500K in design, planning from private sources.) (Note, the Downtown Hotels Initiative was issued as a separate RFP; it can be located at www.sparccommission.com/rfqs-and-rfps.)
- Main Street streetscape project: Complements improvements made to Upper, Middle, and Lower Third Street. ($1M- $1.5M, including $200K in design, planning).
R.I.V.E.R.: $5M
Street design, drainage, sewer, utilities and permanent public space to be donated/owned by the COA
Soft Incentives such as plan costs and feasibility studies or direct business incentives such as façade aid - $167K
TOTAL: $5.167M in permanently- and privately-owned infrastructure improvements
$5.167M
Ruston Foundry Megasite
Parish Multi-Purpose Recreation Facility
- Long term “nominalized” agreement on lease of 30+ acres
- Design, planning, and construction of infrastructure supporting a large-scale industrial and/or commercial office park, including but limited to the construction of roads, sidewalks, and utilities, the design and implementation of a business plan for the location of tenants, investors, and developers, and the development of a comprehensive master plan for the development: $5M
- Construction of a multi-use arena/professional recreational facility: $5M SPARC (along with $10M Police Jury or Cooperative Financing District or Plan, $1M G.A.E.D.A., $1M APCVB/City of Pineville, $5M+ private contributions with naming rights).
Ruston Foundry Megasite(s): $5M
Street design, drainage, sewer, utilities and permanent public space to be donated/owned by the COA
Soft Incentives such as plan costs and feasibility studies – $333K
TOTAL: $5.333M in permanently- and privately-owned infrastructure improvements
$10.5M
Sugarhouse Road
$15.5M
Sixth and Foisy Streets
$25.5M
Housing Initiatives
$26.5M
Hodges Stock Barn
$26.75M
Fire Station Relocation
$27.75M
Gateway Project
$29.75M
Recreation Infrastructure
TOTAL: $30.75M
